-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pirates seized control of a cargo vessel near the Seychelles Thursday , one of two attacks that took place within minutes of each other off the coast of east Africa , according to the European Union Naval Force .

The International Maritime Bureau say attacks off the east coast of Africa have increased this year .

The EU maritime patrol responded to the early morning attacks , along with the Seychelles Coast Guard .

The crew of the Panama-flagged MV Al Khaliq said two pirates had boarded the vessel before communication was cut off with the crew .

The EU force confirmed that six pirates have boarded the 180-meter long bulk carrier , with two attack skiffs in tow . They hoisted the `` mother skiff '' onto the vessel with a crane , the EU force said .

A second attempted hijacking took place at approximately the same time , but the Italian-flagged cargo ship evaded the attack , the EU said . Armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades , pirates opened fire on the MV Jolly Rosso about 460 miles -LRB- 740 km -RRB- east of Mombasa , Kenya .

A Belgium warship , part of the EU force , responded to the attack , which caused no casualties . The 200-meter MV Jolly Rosso continued its voyage .

Pirate attacks off the coast of east Africa have significantly increased this year , according to the International Maritime Bureau , which monitors shipping crimes . But successful attacks have gone down as a result of a strong presence of international monitors .

The first nine months of this year has seen more pirate attacks than all of last year , the bureau reported on Wednesday . From January 1 until September 30 , pirates worldwide mounted 306 attacks , compared with 293 in all of 2008 , it said .

More than half of this year 's attacks were carried out by suspected Somali pirates off the east coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden , a major shipping route between Yemen and Somalia .

Out of those attacks , Somali pirates successfully hijacked 32 vessels and took 533 hostages . Eight others were wounded , four more killed and one is missing , the bureau said .

On Monday , pirates hijacked a Chinese merchant ship and its 25-member crew about 630 miles -LRB- 1,000 km -RRB- northeast of Seychelles . The pirates appeared to be heading toward Somalia , the European Union Naval Force said . China plans to make `` every effort to rescue '' the crew members , Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu , told reporters .

The bulk carrier De Xin Hai is one of four ships that Somali pirates are holding for ransom with 80 crew members as hostages , the International Maritime Bureau said Wednesday .

Maritime authorities say two recent trends have led to a rise in piracy : access and opportunity .

As global commerce picks up , more and more of the world 's fuels , minerals and other crucial commodities travel by ship . Ninety-five percent of America 's foreign trade , for instance , moves by water , according to the U.S. Maritime Administration .

That cargo is an easy target for robbers in countries that lack the resources to secure their shorelines , such as Somalia .

Somalia 's transitional government , which has a tenuous grip on power , has been unable to stop the pirates -- many of whom are based in the country 's port cities .

This has prompted Europe and other Western countries to step up maritime patrols .

`` In the Gulf of Aden , the number of attacks have gone up . But because of the presence of naval vessels , the success rate of the pirates have decreased , '' said Cyrus Mody , manager of the International Maritime Bureau . `` The navies are responding very very effectively . ''

Piracy accelerated after the fall of the Somali government in the early 1990s and began to flourish after shipping companies started paying ransoms .

Those payments started out being in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions .

With the ransoms they collect , pirates can earn up to $ 40,000 a year , analysts say . That 's a fortune for someone from an impoverished country .

Some analysts say companies are simply making the problem worse by paying the piracies .

`` Yes , the ransoms have probably caused the piracy to become a bit more rampant . But at the same time , from the owner 's point of view , there is no other way currently to secure the safe release of the vessel along with the crew and the cargo , '' Mody said .

`` It 's basically a cycle . ''

CNN 's Saeed Ahmed contributed to this report

@highlight

Pirates have taken control of cargo vessel near the Seychelles off east cost of Africa

@highlight

European Union Naval Force say six pirates boarded 180-meter long carrier

@highlight

A second attempted hijacking took place at approximately the same time

@highlight

Pirate attacks off east African coast have increased this year